Drill Chuck Assembly

ABSTRACT

A drill chuck assembly. The drill chuck assembly includes a rapid change mechanism configured to retain a drill bit shank inserted therein. The drill chuck assembly includes a body having a bore with a trilobe cross-section that is configured to receive a triangular and hexagonally shaped drill bit shank, interchangeably. The bore includes a slot positioned in each lobe that slidably contains a detent ball therein. A collar is affixed annularly around the body and defines a channel extending around the body. A sleeve is slidably mounted around the body. The sleeve includes a tapered end that is slidably disposed within the channel and has circular apertures that are in communication with the slots of the bore for reception of the detent balls. The sleeve is spring biased towards the collar, which forces the detent balls against an angular wall within the channel. The angular wall in turn forces the detent balls laterally towards a center of the bore, thereby exerting a force on a drill bit shank inserted into the bore and preventing the withdrawal of the shank from the bore. When the bias force of the sleeve is counteracted by sliding the sleeve about its longitudinal axis, the detent balls move outwardly along the angular wall, thereby relieving the force exerted onto the shank by the Wall and allowing the shank to be withdrawn.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/198,324 filed on Jul. 29, 2015. The above identified patentapplication is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety toprovide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to drill chucks for use with drills orwith electric or pneumatic power drivers. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to a keyless drill chuck assembly having a centralbore with a trilobe profile configured to receive a triangular andhexagonally shaped drill bit shank interchangeably and a quick releasemechanism configured to receive the drill bit shanks automatically.

There are a variety of different drill chucks involving different toollocking mechanisms. For example, there are jawed chucks, which have manydogs or jaw-like members that are tightened to lock the tool in place.Often the jaws will be tightened or loosened with the help of a chuckkey, which is a wrench-like tool made for the purpose of tightening andloosening the shafts of tools in the chuck. However, there are manyjawed chucks of the keyless variety, which involve the tightening andloosening of tools therein by hand force alone. Keyless designs offerthe convenience of quicker and easier “chucking” and “unchucking,” i.e.,tightening and loosening the tool in the chuck, but have lower grippingforce to hold the tool. Additionally, there are collet chucks, whichrather than having jaws, have collets, which are flexible collars orsleeves that fit closely around the tool or workpiece and grip it whensqueezed.

When employing the majority of these chucks, however, it is oftendifficult for a user to quickly change a drill bit for another. Forinstance, the majority of chucks can neither accept different drillbits, which then requires the changing of the chuck altogether if adifferent drill bit is required, nor have releasing mechanisms thatenable a user to change the drill bit without having to manipulate thechuck with their hands. For instance, the majority of jawed chucksrequire the use of a chuck key, which is a wrench-like tool requiring auser to insert the key into the chuck and twist and turn the key inorder to tighten or loosen the drill bit. Moreover, the majority ofchucks are developed to enable only one type of drill bit to be insertedtherein. Furthermore, there are instances when a chuck's releasingmechanism is not directly accessible by a user, thereby requiring theuser to manipulate the tool more than necessary. These are setbacks thatslows a user's work and makes it awkward for him or her to quicklyexchange one drill bit shank for another. Thus, there is a need for adrill chuck assembly in which both a triangular and hexagonal drill bitshank may be inserted and secured automatically therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types ofdrill chucks now present in the prior art, the present inventionprovides a drill chuck assembly wherein the same can be utilized forproviding convenience for the user when employing a variety of drillbits on one power driver. The present system provides a drill chuckassembly including a body having an upper end, a lower end configured tothreadably engage a rotational drive, and a bore extendinglongitudinally therethrough, the bore including a trilobe configurationconfigured to interchangeably receive a triangular drill bit shank and ahexagonal drill bit shank, a plurality of slots extending longitudinallyalong the body, one of the plurality of slots disposed at each lobe ofthe body, wherein the plurality of slots are in communication with thebore, a collar disposed about the body at the upper end thereof, thecollar including an angled wall, wherein the angled wall and the bodydefined a channel therebetween, the channel including a depth thatincreases from the upper end towards the lower end, a sleeve slidablypositioned along the body, the sleeve longitudinally slidable between afirst position and a second position, the sleeve biased to the firstposition by a spring, the sleeve including a plurality of apertures,wherein each of the plurality of apertures are aligned and incommunication with one of the plurality of slots between the firstposition and the second position, a plurality of detent balls, one ofthe plurality of detent balls positioned in one of the plurality ofapertures and extending into one of the plurality of slots alignedtherewith, wherein the plurality of detent balls are slidable along theplurality of slots, the plurality of detent balls including a diameterlarger than a width of the plurality of slots, wherein the plurality ofdetent balls are configured to laterally depress and transitionlongitudinally along the angled wall when a drill bit shank is insertedinto the bore, thereby sliding the sleeve towards the lower end to alocked position in which the depth of the channel is equal to thediameter of the plurality of detent balls, the locked position securingthe drill bit shank within the bore via a bias force exerted by thespring, and wherein moving the sleeve to the second position moves theplurality of detent balls to a position in the channel wherein the depthis larger than the diameter of the plurality of detent balls, releasingthe drill bit shank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will beparticularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and mannerin which it may be made and used may be better understood after a reviewof the following description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the drill chuck assembly.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the drill chuck assembly alongits longitudinal axis with the drill chuck assembly in its firstposition.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the drill chuck assembly alongline 3-3.

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the plug along line 4-4.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the drill chuck assembly alongits longitudinal axis as a drill bit shank is inserted into the bore.

FIG. 6 shows shown a cross-sectional view of the drill chuck assemblyalong its longitudinal axis after a drill bit shank has been insertedinto the bore and is locked therein.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the drill chuck assembly alongits longitudinal axis while in its second position, thereby allowingremoval of a drill bit shank from the bore.

FIG. 8A shows a perspective view of a triangular drill bit.

FIG. 8B shows a perspective view of a hexagonal drill bit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like referencenumerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similarelements of the drill chuck assembly. The figures are intended forrepresentative purposes only and should not be considered to be limitingin any respect.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an exploded view of thedrill chuck assembly and a cross-sectional view of the drill chuckassembly along its longitudinal axis, respectively. The presentinvention comprises a drill chuck assembly 10 configured to receive andretain a drill bit shank. The drill chuck assembly 10 comprises a body15, a collar 20, a sleeve 25, detent balls 30, a spring 32, a plug 34,and a dowel pin 36.

The body 15 includes an upper end 40 and a lower end 45. The body 15comprises a bore 50 having a trilobe profile that is sized anddimensioned to interchangeably receive different types of drill bitshanks, including both triangular drill bit shanks and hexagonal drillbit shanks, as shown in FIGS. 8A-8B. The trilobe profile includes threearcuate sections, i.e. lobes 70, connected together by linear sectionsdefining a roughly trefoil-shaped cross-section, as shown by FIG. 3. Thebore 50 extends substantially along the longitudinal axis of the body15.

The upper end 40 includes a first open end 60 for providing access tothe bore 50. The upper end 40 includes a notch 58, which extendsannularly around the upper end 40 and is sized to receive a snap ringtherein. The upper end 40 is perpendicular relative to the bore 50. Thebore 50 terminates in the body 15 at a bottom end 65, which in t n iscoupled to the plug 34. The bottom end 65 of the bore includes anopening 68 and a shelf 66 that acts to block the plug 34 when insertedinto the lower end 45 of the body from going into the bore 50. The shelf66 is situated perpendiculaly relative to the longitudinal axis of thebore 50. The body 15 includes a tubular channel 42 that extendsperpendicularly relative to the longitudinal axis of the body 15. Thelower end 45 of the body 15 includes a second open end 46 enablinginsertion of the plug 34 therein. The lower end 45 includes a threadedengagement 48 that is configured to threadably couple to an arbor of arotational drive. In one embodiment, the threaded engagement 48 is sizedto threadably receive a variety of differently sized extension shankshaving the same thread thereon.

Each lobe 70 includes a slot 75 disposed along the longitudinal axis ofthe body 15. The slots 75 are positioned in between the upper end 40 andthe bottom end 65, such that the upper end 40 is above the slots 75 andthe bottom end 65 is below the slots 75. The slots 75 extend entirelytho h the body 15 such that each slot 75 communicates with the bore 50.The slots 75 are elongated and oblong in shape, such that the detentballs 30 may move along the longitudinal axis of the slots 75 whenpositioned therein.

The collar 20 is pressedly mounted to the body 15 such that it isdisposed annularly therearound. The collar 20 is positioned adjacent tothe upper end 40 of the front portion 35, such that its upper surface 22is aligned with the upper end 40 of the body 15. After the collar 20 ismounted onto the body 15, a snap ring can be inserted into the notch 58of the body 15 to hold the collar 20 in place and prevent it frombecoming loosened or falling off of the body 15. The collar 20 includesa tapered portion 80 that defines a channel 90 that extends annularlyaround the bore 50. When the collar 20 is secured to the body 15, thechannel 90 is disposed around the slots 75. The channel 90 includes anangular wall 95 that terminates at a longitudinal wall 100. The angular95 extends outwardly towards the bottom end 65 of the bore 50, therebyincreasing the depth of the channel 90 towards the bottom end 65, whilethe longitudinal wall 100 extends from the end of the angular wall 95towards the bottom end 65 of the body 15, parallel to the body 15. Theangular wall 95 is positioned adjacent to the slots 75, such that theangular wall 95 is in communication with the slots 75.

The sleeve 25 is slidably mounted around the body 15 and is disposedannularly therearound. The sleeve 25 includes a tapered end 105, whichis slidably disposed within the channel 90 of the collar 20, such thatthe tapered end 105 can slide along the longitudinal axis of the body 15and within the channel 90. The tapered end 105 includes circularapertures 110, which correspond and are aligned with the slots 75 of thebody 15, such that the apertures 110 are in communication with the slots75 of the bore 50. The detent balls 30 extend through the circularapertures 110 of the sleeve 25 into the slots 75 of the body 15, whichprevents the sleeve 25 from rotating about the body 15. In the depictedembodiment, the sleeve 25 includes a knurled portion 115 which providesa grip for grasping and actuating the sleeve 25.

The detent balls 30 are slidably disposed within the apertures 110 ofthe sleeve 25 and the slots 75 of the bore 50, which arecircumferentially aligned, such that they are positioned within thechannel 90 of the collar 20. The collar 20 prevents the detent balls 30from leaving their position within the channel 90 and completely fallingout of the body 15. The diameter of the detent balls 30 is greater thanthe width of the innermost end of the slots 75 of the body 15,preventing the detent balls 30 from completely passing through the slots75 into the bore 50 of the body 15.

The spring 32 is disposed between a body shoulder 120 on the body 15 anda sleeve shoulder 125 on the sleeve 25. The spring 32 is a compressionspring, whereby the spring 32 compresses as a load or force is appliedto the sleeve 25. The spring 32 is biased towards the upper end 40 ofthe body 15, i.e. the spring 32 exerts a force along the longitudinalaxis of the body 15 towards the upper end 40 thereof when compressed.When the sleeve 25 is biased towards the upper end 40, the detent balls30 in the channel 90 engage the angular wall 95 of the channel 90 andare pushed through the slots 75 of the bore 50, such that the detentballs 30 protrude inwardly towards the center of the bore 50. The sleeve25 is transitionable along the body 15 between a first position (whereinthe spring is extended) and a second position (wherein the spring isentirely compressed). The spring 32 acquires more compression as thesleeve 25 is transitioned from its first position to its secondposition.

The plug 34 is positioned in an interior of the body 15 and disposedannularly around the interior surface thereof. The plug 34 includes aplug shoulder 130 coupled to the bore 50 of the body 15. The plugshoulder 130 is situated perpendicularly relative to the longitudinalaxis of the body 15. When a drill bit shank is inserted into the body 15through the bore 50, the plug shoulder 130 of the plug 34 acts to blockthe drill bit shank from passing into the opening 68 of the body 15 andallows the drill bit shank to rest thereagainst. The plug 34 has a grove135 disposed annularly therearound. The plug 34 is configured to beinserted into the lower end 46 of the body 15, as show in FIG. 1, untilthe plug shoulder 130 reaches the shelf 66 on the bottom end 65 of thebody 15. The shelf 66 acts to stop the plug 34 in the interior of thebody 15 and to prevent it from moving into the bore 50. When the plug 34is inserted into the body 15 the groove 135 is aligned with the tubularchannel 42 of the body 15, such that the groove 135 is in communicationwith the tubular channel 42. The channel 42 is configured to receive adowel pin 36 therethrough, such that the dowel pin 36 extends across thebody 15 into the groove 135, fastening the plug 34 in place within thebody 15. The plug 34 further includes a bore 140 that extendslongitudinally through the plug 34. The tubular channel 42 of the body15 is offset from the bore 140 of the plug 34, as shown by FIG. 4, suchthat when the dowel pin 36 is inserted through the channel 42, the dowelpin 36 does not extend through the bore 140.

FIG. 2 illustrates a view of the drill chuck assembly in its firstposition prior to insertion of a drill bit shank into the bore 50. Thedrill check assembly 10 stays in the first position until a shank 200comes into contact with the detent balls 30 as the shank 200 enters thebore 50. The drill chuck assembly 10 maintains its first position whenresting because the spring 32 is biased to push the sleeve 25longitudinally towards the upper end 40 of the body 15. As the detentballs 30 rest within the apertures 110 of the sleeve, the action of thespring 32 on the sleeve 25 causes the sleeve 25 to push the detent balls30 through the channel 90 and along the slots 75 of the bore 50. As thedetent balls 30 are transitioned through the channel 90, the detentballs 30 make contact with the angular wall 95 of the collar 20, whichin turn pushes the detent balls 30 laterally inwardly towards the centerof the bore 50 until the detent balls 30 reach the terminus of the slots75. When the detent balls 30 reach the terminus of the slots 75 in whichthey are positioned, the detent balls 30 thereby prevent the sleeve 25from moving further towards the upper end 40 of the body 15. In thefirst position the detent balls 30 are in their most inwardly protrudingposit ion. The detent balls 30 are prevented from passing through theslots 75 into the bore 50 because the diameter of the detent balls 30 islarger than the width of the slots 75.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a cross-sectional view of thedrill chuck assembly along its longitudinal axis as a drill bit shank isinserted into the bore. As a shank 200 is inserted into the bore 50 ofthe drill bit assembly 10, the shank 200 makes contact with the detentsballs 30, which protrude inwardly into the bore 50 when the drill chuckassembly is in its first position. The shank 200 in turn exerts alateral force on the detent balls 30, which pushes the detent balls 30laterally outwardly relative to the bore 50 along the angular wall 95 ofthe collar 20. As the detent balls 30 move along the angular wall 95,the detent balls 30 move downwardly along their respective slots 75within the apertures 110 of the sleeve 25 towards the bottom end 65 ofthe body 15. As the width of the channel 90 increases towards the bottomend 65 due to the angular wall 95 being angled away from the bore 50,the detent balls 30 are permitted to move laterally. The movement of thedetent balls 30 along the angular wall 95 in turn causes the sleeve 25to slide towards the bottom end 65 of the body 15, compressing thespring 32.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a cross-sectional view of thedrill chuck assembly along its longitudinal axis after a drill bit shankhas been inserted into the bore and is locked therein. The shank 200 canprogress into the bore 50 until the end 205 of the shank 200 makescontact with the plug shoulder 130 of the plug 34. The plug 34 therebydictates the depth to which the shank 200 can extend into the bore SO.When the shank 200 is fully inserted into the bore 50, i.e. the end 205of the shank 200 makes contact with the plug shoulder 130 of the plug34, the detent balls 30 are held in place against the shank 200 by thelongitudinal force exerted by the compressed spring 32, which is biasedto press the sleeve 25 towards the upper end 40 of the body 15. Thelongitudinal force exerted by the compressed spring 32 forces the sleeve25, and thus likewise the detent balls 30, to a locked position, i.e.,the farthest position along the slots 75 and towards the upper end 40that is permitted by the distance between the angular wall 95 and thesurface of the shank 200. The spring 32 thereby exerts a bias force onthe shank 200 via the angular wall 95 and each of the detent balls 30,thereby locking the shank 200 in place within the bore 50.

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown a cross-sectional view of thedrill chuck assembly along its longitudinal axis while in its secondposition, thereby allowing removal of a drill bit shank from the bore.To remove a drill bit shank 200 from the bore 50, the sleeve 25 is moveddownwardly along the body 15 towards the bottom end 65 of the body 15and against the bias force of the spring 32, thereby compressing thespring 32. As the sleeve 25 is moved downwardly along the body 15, thedetent balls 30 are permitted to move laterally within the slots 75 dueto the increasing depth of the channel 90. When the distance between theangular wall 95 and the shank 200, i.e., the depth, is larger than thediameter of the detent balls 30, the lateral force exerted on the drillbit shank 200 by the detent balls 30 is removed, thereby unlocking theshank 200 and allowing the shank 200 to be removed from the bore 50.

It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown anddescribed in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, thatdepartures may be made within the scope of the invention and thatobvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. Withrespect to the above description then, it is to be realized that theoptimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, toinclude variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and mannerof operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obviousto one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to thoseillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification areintended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

1) A drill chuck assembly comprising: a body including an upper end, alower end configured to threadably engage a rotational drive, and a boreextending longitudinally therethrough; the bore including a trilobeconfiguration configured to interchangeably receive a triangular drillbit shank and a hexagonal drill bit shank; a plurality of slotsextending longitudinally along the body, one of the plurality of slotsdisposed at each lobe of the body; wherein the plurality of slots are incommunication with the bore; a collar disposed about the body at theupper end thereof, the collar including an angled wall; wherein theangled wall and the body defined a channel therebetween, the channelincluding a depth that increases from the upper end towards the lowerend; a sleeve slidably positioned along the body, the sleevelongitudinally slidable between a first position and a second position;the sleeve biased to the first position by a spring; the sleeveincluding a plurality of apertures, wherein each of the plurality ofapertures are aligned and in communication with one of the plurality ofslots between the first position and the second position; a plurality ofdetent balls, one of the plurality of detent balls positioned in one ofthe plurality of apertures and extending into one of the plurality ofslots aligned therewith; wherein the plurality of detent balls areslidable along the plurality of slots; the plurality of detent ballsincluding a diameter larger than a width of the plurality of slots;wherein the plurality of detent balls are configured to laterallydepress and transition longitudinally along the angled wall when a drillbit shank is inserted into the bore, thereby sliding the sleeve towardsthe lower end to a locked position in which the depth of the channel isequal to the diameter of the plurality of detent balls; the lockedposition securing the drill bit shank within the bore via a bias forceexerted by the spring; and wherein moving the sleeve to the secondposition moves the plurality of detent balls to a position in thechannel wherein the depth is larger than the diameter of the pluralityof detent balls, releasing the drill bit shank. 2) The drill chuckassembly of claim 1, further comprising a plug mounted in an interior ofthe body, the annular plug including a bore extending longitudinallytherethrough and a groove disposed annularly around the plug. 3) Thedrill chuck assembly of claim 2, wherein the plug further comprises aplug shoulder coupled to a bottom end of the bore, the plug shoulderbeing perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis of the bore andconfigured to block the drill bit shank from being further inserted intothe bore towards the lower end of the body. 4) The drill chuck assemblyof claim 2, wherein the bore of the body further includes a shelfdisposed on a bottom end of the bore, the shelf being perpendicularrelative to the longitudinal axis of the bore and configured to blockthe plug when mounted therein from being further inserted into the boretowards the upper end of the body. 5) The drill chuck assembly of claim2, wherein the body comprises a tubular channel extendingperpendicularly through the body relative to the longitudinal axis ofthe body, the tubular channel being offset from the bore of the plug andaligned with the groove such that they are in communication, the tubularchannel and groove configured to receive a dowel pin therethrough. 6)The drill chuck assembly of claim 1, wherein the upper end of the bodyfurther comprises a notch disposed annularly therearound, the notchconfigured to receive a snap ring. 7) The drill chuck assembly of claim1, wherein the sleeve further comprises a knurled portion. 8) The drillchuck assembly of claim 1, wherein the body further comprises a bodyshoulder and the sleeve comprises a second shoulder. 9) The drill chuckassembly of claim 8, wherein the spring is positioned between the bodyshoulder and the sleeve shoulder.